Abstract. The interaction study of vegetation with the flow environment is essential for the determination of the bank protection, morphological characteristics and ecological conditions for the wetlands. This paper uses MIKE 21 hydrodynamic and salinity model to simulate the hydrodynamic characteristics and salinity transport process in Pink Beach wetlands of Liao River estuary. The effect of wetland plant on tidal flow in areas of wetland waters is represented by a varying Manning's coefficient in the bottom friction term. Acquisition of vegetation distribution is based on Landsat TM satellites through remote sensing techniques. The detailed comparisons between field observation and simulated result of water depth, salinity and tidal currents at neap tide and spring tide are presented in vegetated domain of Pink Beach. Satisfactory results are obtained in simulating both flow characteristic and salinity concentration with or without vegetation. Several stations from upstream to downstream in the Pink Beach are selected to estimate the longitudinal variation of salinity under different river runoffs and the results show that the salinity concentration decreases with an increase of river runoff. This study can help to increase understanding of the favorable salinity conditions for the special vegetation growth in the Pink Beach wetlands of Liao River estuary. The results provide crucial guidance for related interaction studies among vegetation, flow and salinity in other wetland waters.
Numerical study of hydrodynamic and salinity transport process in Pink Beach wetlands of Liao River Estuary, China
